Blood Boys to Noble Knights (The Flux: Part 2)

Something has happened to the Blood Boys. Something odd happened. The whole world changed. One moment, they were vampires living in the Twin Cities area and the next… they were somewhere in the 5th Century bumping shoulders with characters straight from Arthur’s Britain.

They’ve undergone something called “the Flux.” The entire world changed and nobody noticed. Everyone entered the new world with complete lives and memories. Only three of the Blood Boys remembered the past world and retained their memories. Roman did not. As far as he knows, the whole world has always been 5th Century Britain. And the Boys can’t find a way to change that.

Confused? Not as confused as the Blood Boys are.

What’s more, some of the folks they knew back in the Twin Cities have shown up in Britain as well. Changed just slightly—some more than others—but still familiar. Familiar strangers.

Our cast of characters includes:

Ben as Gwillym, a knight under Uther of Logres. Giant in stature, hideous in appearance,

Lee as Cysgodian of Cameliard. Leodegrance’s personal advisor and mentor to his child, Morganna,

Fabien as Dominic of Gaul. An Occitanian knight who has a subtle and secret agenda in Britain,

Dan as Gwinas of Cameliard. A devout Christian knight who serves under Leodegrance, and

Nick as Gideon of Trent. A godless and villainous man, the greatest knight under Uther of Logres

Our story continues…

* * *

The Boys (in their new identities) meet up in a pavilion to discuss what’s happening. With them is Ms. Lethe in her new identity, Lady Elaine.

"We have to get out of here," she says.

"What do you mean?" asks Dominic. "You mean out of this Changeling trick?"

"No," Elaine says. "Out of Britain." She looks at all of them. "Listen to me. Don’t you recognize the names? Uther? Cornwall? Igraine?"

The boys look at her blankly.

"Well, yes," Will says. "It’s Camelot."

She shakes her head. "No. It’s not. It’s before all that. And there’s going to be a war. A big, bloody war. And everyone is going to die. And it’s going to be chaos for ten years with no king. And the French are going to invade and the Vikings are going to invade and the fucking Irish are going to invade." She pauses. "No offense, Don," she says.

"None taken," he says.

"It’s the only time in British history that the Irish actually invade Britain. It’s all building to a climax right now. And it’s going to be ugly."

The Boys think about that for a while. Dominic asks, "Where do we go?"

She doesn’t hesitate. "China," she says. "They have literacy and medicine and fucking hygiene."

"What if this is it?" Dominic asks. "I mean, what if the world is just Britain? And nothing else?"

"Do you want to stay here?"

There’s a long pause. And all of the Boys look at Dominic. Finally, he says, "Let’s get together everyone we know and try to get out of here."

"What about the Dinkytown Girls?" Gwillym asks.

Cysgodian shakes his head. "No. We don’t know if they’re a part of this or not."

Gwillym frowns. "They’re just as screwed up as we are," he says. "Misty… she doesn’t even remember the past world."

Gwyllim nods. "I think so. Her name is French. It means ‘little finger’ or something like that."

Dominic’s eyes go dark. "Auriculaire?" he asks.

Gwyllim lights up. "Yeah! That’s it!"

Dominic covers his eyes with his hand. "Merde," he whispers. Then, he looks at Gwillym. "That’s my sister."

* * *

All this time, Cysgodian has been testing things. If he can remember who he was, can he still do the things he used to do?

Walking through the pavilions, he tries to vanish. He does.

He tries using his Mekhet sight. He does.

Excellent.

He arrives at the Duke of Cornwall’s pavilion. His young student, Cornwall’s daughter Morganna, is there.

"You look different," she tells him.

"In what way?" he asks.

"I do not know," she says. "Just different."

The Duke of Cornwall enters. Cysgodian bows. "My Lord," he says.

"I am sorry I made the decision without you," the Duke says. "I know I should have talked to you first. But the moment was there." He touches Cysgodian’s shoulder. "I will never make that mistake again."

"I hope not, sir."

The Duke leaves the room. Morganna tugs on Cysgodian’s robe. "Will Merlin be there?" she asks. "At the party?"

At Uther’s celebration, all the greatest knights in the world gather. Leodegrance is there. Uriens is there. Melodias and his son, young Tristan are there. And, of course, the Duke of Cornwall is there. And with him is his wife, Lady Igraine.

All the knights look upon her. Their eyes grow wide. Their jaws fall slack.

The Most Beautiful Woman in the World has entered the room. And everything changes.